A Tempe eighth-grader who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside of his school days prior to the end of the semester is now back home after spending weeks in ICE detention alongside his mother, Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton told Phoenix New Times.
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On Tuesday evening, 14-year-old Dilan Paredes and his mother, 47-year-old Margoth Paredes-Ortiz, landed back at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a 20-day stay at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas.
“Today’s a very good day,” Stanton told New Times. “Because Margoth and Dilan are heading home to Tempe, Arizona.”
Late last month, Paredes was detained outside of Cecil Shamley School in south Tempe after his mother was detained by ICE outside of a nearby Walmart. Paredes-Ortiz had called the school, which released him to her, and to ICE. The mother and son were then transferred to the controversial Frio County, Texas, family detention facility, which has been marred by accusations of poor food quality and limited access to medical care and education.
But on Tuesday, as a result of the , Paredes and his mother were released from Dilley and flown back to Phoenix. The settlement establishes that immigrant children cannot be detained in the U.S. government’s custody for more than 20 days.
“We were counting down the days until 20 days,” Stanton said. “We did a formal inquiry into the case, so ICE was well aware that we were paying close attention.”
Paredes-Ortiz came to Arizona with her in 2023 from Ecuador to escape gun violence after being victims of an armed robbery. According to Stanton and immigration advocate Clarissa Vela, she was granted asylum in her case but skipped a recent immigration court hearing due to fears of being detained, which resulted in ICE picking her up.
At the time of the pair’s detention, ICE said that Paredes-Ortiz had a final removal order issued in March 2025 and was arrested by the agency after a referral from the Border Patrol. ICE alleged that Paredes-Ortiz’s vehicle “failed to yield as a suspected alien smuggling load vehicle.”
Stanton involvement
Stanton’s office submitted a formal inquiry to ICE on behalf of the mother and son. As part of the inquiry, ICE confirmed to Stanton’s office that there’s no removal order against Margoth Paredes and “no legal reason” to hold off on the release of her and her son. So, depending on the next steps in their legal case, the mother and son should stay out of detention until a judge rules otherwise.
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ICE did not immediately respond to New Times’ request to comment.
The day after Paredes’ detention, his friends and classmates staged a walkout to protest his detention. Paredes’ friends described him as a short, athletic and funny person who was always making them laugh. He was in eighth grade at the K-8 school and was set to be “promoted” to high school in a few days, about which his friends said he was very excited.
Instead, Paredes spent what should have been his promotion day in ICE detention. Since being detained in late May, immigration advocates, including People’s First Project in Arizona and Read Them Free in Texas, have joined Stanton and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro to advocate for their release.
Stanton spoke to Paredes-Ortiz while she was detained in Dilley, which he said was “very distressing.” Paredes-Ortiz shared her story with Stanton of escaping violent crime in Ecuador and “made it clear” that her son was “suffering from a lot of trauma” as a result of their detention.
“A 14-year-old kid should not have been detained the day before his graduation,” Stanton said. “What a traumatic experience that has been for him and his classmates.”
Stanton had traveled to Dilley to conduct an oversight visit a day before the pair were detained. Stanton described the facility as a prison in the middle of a field with large trailers where families stay. “It’s no place for a young child,” Stanton said. “For a young child being detained, that should be handled by case management, not by putting young children in a prison-like environment.”
Stanton added that his staffer, Denise Garcia Ornelas, had spoken with Paredes-Ortiz “almost like twice daily to keep her updated on the activities we’re doing.” Ornelas and another Stanton staff member also met the pair at the airport to “keep our support for them going,” Stanton said.
“We know there’s going to be ongoing trauma for Dilan,” he added. “He’s going to need the help of the community.”
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